I heard something last year on my meditation retreat that has stuck with me.

I was in Spain for a month, doing a lot of meditating and attending one or two meetings every day. On this particular day three people in a row shared different versions of how the meditation was uncomfortable for them.

Maharishi, my teacher, then asked “who said this should be comfortable?”. That’s what has stuck with me ever since. Who said this should be comfortable?

A great question.

Susan David said “Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life”. (Check out her great TED talk here).

I think she’s right.

To put it another way, being comfortable is the wrong aim. And the problem isn’t discomfort, the problem is the thought that comes along with it – “it shouldn’t be like this”. And it’s not even that thought that’s the problem, it’s that we believe it.

My reframe is that I’m aiming to live an extraordinary – i.e. not ordinary – life, to be the best father and husband I can be, to make a big difference through my work, and to create freedom for myself and others. Not to be comfortable.

Which means when it does get uncomfortable, I can tell myself that this is what I signed up for rather than thinking it shouldn’t be like this.